Cruise Boom 2025: Numbers Celebrate, Residents Take Stock

Cruise Boom 2025: Numbers Celebrate, Residents Take Stock

511 calls – and yet a quieter December

The port authority records a total of 511 cruise ship calls in Palma de Mallorca for 2025, an increase of 2.4 percent compared to the previous year, as reported in Auge de los cruceros 2025: las cifras celebran, los habitantes hacen cuentas. At first glance that sounds like success: more ships, more guests, more ringing tills. At the same time, December stands out: only nine calls, 43 percent fewer than in the same month last year.

Key question: How much of this growing cruise business actually stays on the island – and what costs do residents and the environment pay?

The facts are clear: In December the AIDA Luna, with four intermediate stops, is the defining ship in the winter schedule; the Costa Smeralda is the only large mega-ship coming on December 16. Boutique and expedition ships like the Star Legend and Le Lapérouse are also on the move, and the routes connect Palma mainly with ports in Spain, Italy and France. This trend is noted in Cruise Awards 2025: Palma in Focus — More Parties Onboard, More Questions Ashore. Notable is the return of Algiers as a destination port and the increase in ships registered in Palma: shipping companies are shifting base operations here, especially for the German- and British-market.

The scene in the harbor is familiar: in the morning on Passeig Mallorca a mix of taxi drivers, café staff, fishermen on the quay and groups of older passengers with rolling suitcases. The streetlights still cast long shadows, the sea glitters, but the air also carries the smell of diesel – a scent that for many residents has long become routine. This becomes acute on busy days, as described in Four Cruise Giants, One Old Town: Palma Struggles with the Tourist Flood.

Critical analysis: The figure 511 is not automatically an indicator of the common good. It says nothing about how economic returns are distributed, what the environmental costs are, or whether the tourist infrastructure – waste disposal, public transport, emergency capacities – can keep up. One example: winter cruises usually bring older guests who often book day trips or short hotel stays. That can stimulate local businesses. At the same time many shipping companies avoid costs through minimal time ashore: guests are transported by large buses to highlights and then return to the ship. The direct added value for small, independent businesses thus remains limited.

What is too rarely part of the public debate: reliable figures on emissions, onboard wastewater management (see MARPOL Annex IV on sewage), and transparent data on how much the port operators collect in fees and how these funds are used. The question of seasonal distribution is also discussed too little: Why does December in particular cause such strong fluctuations? Is it due to changed routes, low demand or operational decisions by the shipping companies?

Also often missing is the perspective of residents. Whoever opens their windows in Portixol sometimes hears a ship's loudspeaker carry through the night; in Cala Major fishing boats see wake tracks near the harbor. Such everyday moments are not headlines, but they shape quality of life.

Concrete solutions that do not remain mere buzzwords:

1. A publicly accessible dashboard with calls, fees, emissions data and the use of port revenues. Transparency builds trust and discussion instead of speculation.

2. Expansion of shore power (cold ironing) at the passenger quay, with mandatory time slots for berthing large ships so engines can rest in port.

3. Environmental fees earmarked for coastal protection, wastewater treatment and improved public transport on arrival days – so the traffic pays directly into recognizable infrastructure.

4. Capacity regulations: a kilometre-mix of maximum ship size per day, clear limits for simultaneous mega-calls and targeted support for smaller ports to avoid displacement effects.

5. Incentives for shipping companies to use local supply chains and promote crew shore leave so more money flows into the city instead of international supplier networks.

6. A formal participation process for neighborhoods with high port burden: regular meetings, noise monitoring and faster complaint channels.

Bottom line: 511 calls is a number that deserves attention. It shows that Palma remains an attractive port destination. But attractiveness should not be measured solely by calls. If we want the island to benefit in the long term, we must manage the business: fairer economically, cleaner ecologically and with genuine participation from the people who live here. Otherwise the supposed boom will leave only a photo of the glittering harbor and a bill paid by others.